“Russia, India and China troika remains independent mechanism”: Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov ahead of BRICS Summit

Ahead of the BRICS summit, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reaffirmed the existence of the Russia-India-China (RIC) troika and said that despite the group not meeting for some time due to several circumstances, the troika remains an “independent mechanism.”

The remarks by Lavrov came during an interview with the Moscow-based news outlet Argumenty I Fakty, shared by Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Russia at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin from October 22-23 to attend the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan.

This will be the second visit of PM Modi to Russia this year. He had earlier visited the Russian Federation in July, in his first bilateral visit since assuming office for the third term.

During the interview, Lavrov said, “BRICS epitomises the shifts that have long been underway in the global economy. New centres of economic growth are emerging, and alongside them comes financial influence, which in turn brings political influence. For more than a year and indeed over several decades, the epicentre of global development has been transitioning from the Euro-Atlantic region to Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region. This trend was first observed by economists from a private Western bank, which identified the world’s fastest-growing economies. The term BRICS originates from this study, based purely on objective statistical data.”

He added, “It was at that juncture that BRICS began to take form, completing a process initiated by Yevgeny Primakov in the 1990s. He proposed the initiative to hold regular meetings within the framework of the Russia-India-China (RIC) troika. This troika remains in existence. Although they have not convened for some time due to the pandemic and other circumstances, it persists as an independent mechanism.”

Lavrov further spoke about the joining of Brazil and South Africa and said, “Subsequently, Brazil joined the RIC, transforming it into BRIC. Thereafter, South Africa joined the ranks, and BRICS was established (in the context of the analysis I referred to), representing the fastest and most consistently growing economies among the world majority nations.”

He added, “Since then, BRICS has prioritised the needs of its nations, and interest in the grouping continues to grow. It is a consortium where no single nation leads or is led…”

The Russian foreign minister emphasised BRICS’ dedication to increasing its member nations’ collective potential and making collaborative strategies to harness this potential for mutual gain.

“BRICS is committed to enhancing the combined potential of its nations and devising collaborative strategies for harnessing these potentials for mutual benefit. Consequently, rather than relying on artificial constructs, BRICS formulates plans and projects based on real-world needs. Experts from various fields including economy, trade, logistics, transport, communications, and modern information and communication technologies convene,” Lavrov said.

He added, “Recently, tax service experts assembled to share experiences and present capabilities. This collaboration elucidates how to amalgamate these potentials for the advantage of all nations. This is precisely what renders BRICS appealing to the world’s majority nations.”

Asked about the future prospects for BRICS, Lavrov said, “Following the decision of last year’s summit, we are working at the level of experts and ministers to prepare a proposal on a new BRICS partner country category. Partner countries will enjoy broad rights and privileges, almost equal to the permanent members of BRICS, with just a few exceptions. The proposal will be presented to the BRICS leaders at the Kazan meeting.”

Lavrov also praised BRICS and emphasised that the group isn’t about fighting with others, but rather about harnessing their collective strengths for mutual benefit but are established to collectively benefit from their competitive advantages.

“What makes BRICS and other World Majority or Global East associations that do not include Western countries stand out, is that they are not created for the purpose of struggling or fighting with anyone. They are established to collectively benefit from their competitive advantages such as geographical location, shared history, cultural and humanitarian proximity, and coherence of economic systems, as is the case of the former Soviet republics. This is an objectively occurring process,” Lavrov said.

The leaders of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries met for the first time in St Petersburg, Russia in 2006. After a series of high-level meetings, the first BRIC summit was held in Russia’s Yekaterinburg in 2009.

BRIC group was renamed as BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) after South Africa was accepted as a full member at the BRIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in New York in September 2010.

On 1 January this year BRICS admitted four new members: Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.